Overview

The Courtes are a group of lesser peaks in the Mont Blanc region that feature a prominent north face which is a great trainings ground for extreme skiers and ambitious alpinists in ice ascents. The south side is somewhat friendlier, and is more traveled.BTW: Courtes means 'short ones' because they appear to be a bit shorter than the Droites which are just right of the Courtes when looking at the ridge from the valley

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Getting There

The closest International Airport for this region is Geneva.
Most first time visitors will certainly want to see Chamonix and the Mt.Blanc before going on to the Droites.

Transport:

Train: Railway station in the town. The Saint Gervais to Vallorcine line connects to the high-speed TGV line
in Annecy (in peak season the TGV runs directly to Saint Gervais) +33-(0)450 53 1298; +33-(0)8 36 35 35 35

Bus: Mont-Blanc Bus: Regular bus service covering all of the Chamonix valley +33-(0)450 53 0555
Daily services to Annecy, Geneva, Grenoble, Courmayeur, Aoste and Turin, as well as to all the principal
towns in the Mont-Blanc region +33-(0)450 53 0115

Car: From:
- Switzerland: starting from Martigny and passing by the 'Col des Montets', Cham is only a mere 16 km from the border.
- France: Geneva is connected to Cham via a Toll-Higway and normal roads.
- Italy: The Mont Blanc from Courmayeur makes the access very fast and easy year-round.

Depending on the side you want to climb, you either start from

Chamonix for the easier south-side From Chamonix you can take the train up the 'Mer de Glace', continue over the glacier (crevasses!) and stay overnight in the 'Refuge de Couvercle' From there it is about 4-5 hours to summit

Argentiere for the north-face, which is just a few miles north of Cham. From Argentiere, you can take the 'teleferique' Grand Montets up and walk down again over the glacier (easy) to the "Refuge D'Argentiere". From there it is 7-12 hours to the top depending on the route

For more Details see the Approach to the Huts section below.

Red Tape

There is no limitations whatsoever: Climbing, camping, beeing happy: just enjoy !

When To Climb

A real winter ascent would be quite hard, but the conditions e.g. even beginning of November 2001
were just fine.The North Face is steep enough that not too much snow is sticking to it, but not as
steep as the Droites. After a strong snowfall, you should wait for the next time it gets a little warmer,
and the first avalanches will clean out the face again.

Shelter / Huts

Hotels: Plenty in Chamonix and Argentiere, prices rather steep. Huts: The Refuges should be reserved during most parts of the year. Prices: ~50 FF = $7 US for Members of (Euro)Alpine Clubs Prices: ~100 FF = $14US for others

Books

There are several Guidebooks available, please find them at the Droites page !

Approach to the Huts

To the Ref. d'Argentiere
There are 3 choices (depending on your time and energy)

From Croix de Lognan (1970 m) in 3 - 3,5 h,
to Croix de Lognan with cable car from Argentière: From Croix de Lognan, you go on foot up over
the moraine crest till about 2250m. Than you continue horizontally to the glacier, which you follow
on the orographically left side. After about 1 km, the glacier becomes steeper and more torn.
You climb onto the morain of the Rognons, first over a slippery shelf, than via a marked way which
you follow until you reach the upper end of the ice break. You climb the glacier with SE-direction
and reach the hut above the moraine .

On foot from Argentière in 5 h:
From the ground station of the cable car, you follow the wide aisle of the ski-run. You leave it at the height of about
1750m and reach the way of the middle station of the cable car (2 h). Now, you need 3 h to the hut.

From Aiguille des Grands Montets (summit station of the cable car from Argentière; last train up: 4:45 p.m.) in 2 h:
From the summit station, you go via a stairway to the Col des Grandes Montets. You traverse a
bergschrund (maybe with the help of a rope) and go up the steep hang to the Glacier Rognons.
You go with ENE-direction on the western side along P. 3000 to P. 2754m. You go down southeastern
to the glacier d'Argentière, which you reach above the icebreak. From here in 2 h to the hut.

To the Ref. de Couvercle

You reach the hut from Montenvers in 3,5 h over the glacier:
From Montenvers to the starting point of the hiking way to the Ref. d'Envers des Aiguilles:
You have to follow the way with direction to Les Echelles which goes slightly down to the western side
of the Mer de Glace. But before you enter the Glacier, you have to follow the way on the western side of the
glacier for about 20 min. Now you have to go up the glacier first more on the western side, then just through
the middle with SE direction to Les Moulins. Now you do not follow the marking signs to the moraines but
continue with S and then E direction to the steep passages at Les Egralets (partly a little bit like a way).
You go the steep passages up and via a good way through grass hangs to a moraine,
from which you reach the hut soon.
You can reach Montenvers:

Either with the special Montenvers-train from Chamonix. The train goes the whole year except from the middle
of November till the middle of December. The first train starts during the season often not before 8 a.m.,
the last train down not after 6.30 p.m.

Or on foot from Chamonix on the marked way via Biollay in 2,5 h.

Via a new climbing track below the Flammes de Pierre and the ends of the Aig. du Moine:
Note: Because of ice avalanches, some passages of this route have become very dangerous.
You have to ask for the actual conditions.

Mountain Conditions

Sorry, but most up-to-date information is only available in french :-(

Office de Haute Montagnes (OHM) (+33-(0)450 532 208) offers a comprehensive information service about routes and weather conditions. Located in the building adjacent to Èglise-St.Michel church, 9:00-12:00 & 15:00-18:00 during the summer.

Additions and Corrections

Climbed the huge colouir with crampons (10.march 2003). Good snow until about above midway, but hard ice and some rocks for the last 100 height meters (left our skis here). Skied down ! An awesome experience ! The steepness is between 45 and just above 50 degrees. Only to be skied/climbed in good snow conditions.